Investing, Asset Allocation, Economics & the Search for the Bottom Line

Major Asset Classes | January 2013 | Performance Review

Risky assets generally started the new year on a strong note, led by handsome gains for equities in the US and the developed world. The leading source of red ink last month: government bonds in developed markets. Overall, the unmanaged market-value weighted Global Market Index (GMI) gained 2.5% in January, building on a strong run in 2012.

Starting with January 2013 performance data, GMI includes foreign high yield bonds and foreign REITs. Here’s an overview of the reasoning behind these additions, along with some of the details for intergrating the two asset classes into GMI and its benchmark brethren.